The health sector enhances its gains in the UAE during the year 2024

 Health policies in the country represent the provision of the best quality and efficient health services, while ensuring that all members of society enjoy these services, whether therapeutic, preventive or rehabilitative. The legislative health system aims to protect the rights of patients, regulate health facilities, medicines, medical products and working medical personnel in a way that ensures the enhancement and improvement of the efficiency of the health system and the provision of high-quality services according to the best standards and in innovative ways, in coordination with various concerned parties.

Health Policies

Federal and local health authorities are keen to prepare policies that protect public health and regulate the health sector in the country, with the aim of creating a huge leap in the reality of health services to achieve the aspirations of the Emirati community in what it aspires to in terms of a promising future for the health sector characterized by excellence and advancement. The health policies set by the state include the following:

• National Policy for the Promotion of Mental Health in the United Arab Emirates

• National Policy for the Promotion of Healthy Lifestyles

• National Policy for Medicines

• National Policy for Combating Communicable Diseases

• National Policy for Immunizations

• National Policy for Intellectual Property in the Health Sector

• National Policy for People with Autism Disorder

  

Health protection laws

 The UAE government has worked to ensure the existence of a legislative system in the health sector in order to promote and protect public health, in accordance with the precautionary principle and confirmed scientific evidence, and in accordance with international health regulations. The state works to enhance cooperation at all internal and external levels in the fields of public health and health care and reduce risks affecting human health and society, in addition to raising the level of community awareness of the factors and risks that affect human health and their causes, and establishing a sense of individual and collective responsibility, and working to increase community awareness of methods of protecting human health.

 The legislative system in the country aims to protect patients' rights, regulate health facilities, medicines, medical products and medical personnel working in the country in a way that ensures and achieves the country's goals in the health sector to enhance and raise the efficiency of the health system and provide high-quality services according to the best standards and in innovative ways, in coordination with various concerned parties.

Important initiatives in the health sector

 Use of information and communications technology in health fields

• Federal Law No. (2) of 2019 regarding the use of information and communications technology in health fields regulates all methods and uses of information and communications technology in health care fields in the country, including free zones.

  

 This law aims to:

• Ensure the optimal use of information and communications technology in health fields.

• Ensure the compatibility of approved foundations, standards and practices with their internationally approved counterparts.

• Ensure the security and integrity of health data and information.

• In addition, the law grants the Ministry of Health and Community Protection the authority to collect, analyze and store health information at the national level.

Data Protection and Privacy

When using ICT in healthcare, healthcare providers must:

 1. Maintain the confidentiality of health data and information by not allowing them to be circulated in unauthorized circumstances.

2. Ensure the accuracy and reliability of health data and information by protecting them from unauthorized tampering, modification, alteration, deletion or addition.

3. Ensure the availability of health data and information to authorized persons and facilitate access to them when needed.

ICT in Health Policies

The Department of Health - Abu Dhabi’s “Digital Health Policy” (available in English) aims to enable healthcare providers to use digital technologies to improve the delivery of healthcare services and their outcomes. Read the full policy on the Department of Health - Abu Dhabi website.

National Nutrition Guidelines

The Ministry of Health and Prevention has launched the National Nutrition Guidelines (PDF-1.95 MB) as a national document and reference for nutritional education for community members, and a healthy nutritional guide for patients, health institutions and nutrition clinics in the UAE.

 This guide aims to:

• Improve the nutritional status of the UAE community, and increase their awareness of disease-causing dietary patterns

• Prevent malnutrition and obesity, and reduce the incidence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease and cancer

• Reduce the rates of illness and death resulting from non-communicable diseases

• Motivate individuals to practice sports activities that complement nutritional safety efforts.

The guide covers six main guidelines:

 Take the Guide The main guidelines are:

1- Support a healthy lifestyle through healthy food and activity for all.

2- Eat healthy foods at all stages of life.

3- Reduce calories by reducing the percentage of cow sugar, especially the rate of increase and conversion, and reduce salt intake.

4- Diversify the diet rich in special nutrients,

5- Follow nutritional guidelines and other healthy foods.

6- Safe food.

The National Nutrition Guideline was developed in coordination with the Food and Water Security Office in the UAE, in cooperation with the World Health Organization and the Gulf Nutrition Committee, and with the active participation of the relevant government agencies in the country.

The medical sector in the UAE witnessed, during the year 2024, a large group of gains and achievements within the efforts to improve the sector's performance in a way that enhances the quality of life of community members and supports healthy lifestyles.

The UAE has allocated AED 5.745 billion, or 8% of the general budget of the Union for the fiscal year 2025, for health services and community protection.

 In a qualitative step, the Cabinet approved a decision to create a health insurance system for workers registered with private sector institutions and support service workers in the UAE that do not have health insurance systems, and obligating employers in private sector institutions and establishments and employers of support service workers in the concerned emirates to pay the value of health insurance for workers registered with them starting from January 1, 2025.

 In a related context, the Cabinet approved the National Policy for Women's Health, to ensure that they enjoy the highest level of preventive, therapeutic and rehabilitative health care services.

For its part, the Emirates Genome Council announced the inclusion of genetic testing as an essential part of the premarital examination program for all citizens intending to marry across the country, starting in January 2025. The genetic test within premarital examinations covers 570 genes for more than 840 genetic disorders and is a preventive measure that protects members of society from genetic diseases.